Final answer:
The blending or mixing of phenotypes in offspring from a cross between a white hen and a black rooster exemplifies incomplete dominance as a specific type of inheritance.
Step-by-step explanation:
Incomplete dominance is best illustrated by the merging or mixing of phenotypes in the progeny of a cross between a black rooster and a white hen. When there is partial dominance, neither allele fully dominates the other, leaving the heterozygous offspring with an intermediate or blended phenotype.
In this instance, the heterozygous offspring (Ww or Bb) may display a phenotypic of grey feathers, indicating the blending of the parental phenotypes, if white feathers (allele W) and black feathers (allele B) reflect the two alleles. In contrast, in total dominance, one allele suppresses the expression of the other, resulting in a heterozygous phenotype that closely resembles that of its parents.
The heterozygous phenotype is a unique intermediate stage in incomplete dominance.